Pivac on the attack as Wales move on from ‘Warrenball’

New coach admits it will take time to change predecessor’s defensive style, writes Ben Coles

The problem with a tag such as “Warrenball” is that once it sticks, removing it is almost impossible. Warren Gatland’s remarkable run as Wales head coach seems set to be eternally remembered only by one phrase.

By the end of his time in charge last year, it clearly annoyed him. “I still don’t know what Warrenball is,” Gatland said. For most, it meant one thing: power.

Disposing entirely of that winning formula, even if the style was not to everyone’s taste, is a risky move. But the message from his successor Wayne Pivac, building up to his first Test in charge today against Italy, is that while retaining some of those core elements, he plans to evolve the Wales attack.

That intent has come with a clear warning – transforming Wales into a more enterprising side will take time. “It won’t happen overnight,” Pivac said last month.

Based on Wales’s numbers for 2019, there is much to do. Of all the Six Nations sides, taking averages from all their Tests, Wales ranked at the bottom when it came to number of tries scored, defenders beaten and carries, managing 2.4 tries per Test compared to leaders England, with 4.1. Offloads, clean breaks and metres made were similarly low.

Those areas can only improve, with Pivac stressing that his squad have work to do on attacking skills.

“We’re working hard on our attack but it’s going to take a little bit of time. Some of the skill sets need to improve but where there is a will, there is a way,” Pivac said.

“The boys are very willing, so it’s a pretty good start in terms of training. It’s about making sure we prepare well and put on a performance that we, as a group, are proud of. If we can do that then I’m sure everyone will enjoy themselves.”

Even for someone such as Taulupe Faletau, one of the most gifted forwards of his generation, that has meant extra attention to detail on his skills ahead of his first Test in almost two years.

New approach: Wales head coach Wayne Pivac wants to play exciting rugby

“They have been doing a lot on the basics of handling, which has been good,” Faletau said. “Personally, I can get a lot better at that.”

One player familiar with Pivac’s style is Johnny Mcnicholl, the new cap on the wing, who has qualified to play for Wales after three seasons working with the coach at Scarlets, where great strides have been made. They have gone from scoring two tries on average per game in Pivac’s first Pro14 season to a peak of 3.5 tries. They were also making 2.5 more clean breaks and beating four more defenders on average per match, while also passing more, an increase of about 40 per game, and kicking less.

“At the Scarlets, at home and now with Wales we’ve all played a similar brand of rugby throughout my career,” said Mcnicholl, who started with the Crusaders in Super Rugby before joining Pivac at the Scarlets. “All the teams I’ve played for play the try-scoring way. We don’t play for penalties. We play for tries to keep the scoreboard ticking over.”

As defending Six Nations champions, Wales are in the mix to win the title again and Mcnicholl said: “I don’t want to give secrets away, but as you can see from the team that’s been picked [to face Italy] we are going to be playing some expansive rugby and we are going to want to score a lot of tries.”

He added: “We want to win this trophy back.”